


Injustice: the madness of a god.

by A_Quiet_Place



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Injustice: Gods Among Us, Superman - All Media Types
Genre: Anal Sex, Anger, Braniac's ship is OP, Cheating, Dark, M/M, Male Slash, Marking, Mind Control, Obsession, Possessive Behavior, Rape/Non-con Elements, lord kal-el, lots of death, progressively madder superman, thrall bruce wayne
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-02
Updated: 2017-09-27
Packaged: 2018-12-23 02:59:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11980665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_Quiet_Place/pseuds/A_Quiet_Place
Summary: Grief, anger and power corrupt, all of which Superman has in droves.Since Kal-El had forced Braniac's ship into his mind, Batman had been the ideal right hand man. He only spoke when requested to, he did whatever Kal-El asked of him without so much as a blink.Dark fic, intended for adult readers. Tags will update as chapters progress, please read them for content warnings.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Not something I would usually write but here we are. Sorry Grandma.  
> I might need to cleanse after this is done.
> 
> I own nothing, just the depravity.

“While Diana is dealing with her sisters, you will be checking up on the small council.” Kal-El said as he leaned back in his chair, his black-clad form stretched languidly out, long powerful legs crossed at the ankle. Damian stood before him, feet shoulder width apart and arms folded behind his back.

There was a beat of silence, Kal-El watched with slightly narrowed eyes as Damian stared at the dark figure just to the right of his throne.

“ _Damian_.” He growled at his general, causing the younger man to jump slightly and jerk his attention back to where it belonged.  
  
“Sorry, Lord Kal. Yes, I will.” Damian amended quickly, but not without a tone of insolence. He jerked his chin upward, breaking his stare.  
  
“Good, now get out.” Kal-El glared at him, daring the man to speak out of turn. He could see the turmoil beneath the skin of the once son of Wayne. The warring fight between honor and family; something that had shown up in the boys face not long after the battle with Braniac, two years prior. It had since grown silently behind angry eyes. Kal-El had no fear, Damian would be reminded of his choices and what they meant for the good of his people, no defiance would be tolerated.

Damian's eyes brushed one last time over the silent form to Kal's right before he turned and saw himself out. As the door slid shut behind his general, Kal's eyes wandered over the dark figure beside him in contemplation. The towering form of his once friend and then adversary remained at his side like a shadow in the fortress; his own personal guard, not that he ever needed one, but Batman has always had a presence about him that deterred even the most rebellious of heroes. The un-subtle reminder of what would become of anyone who would try to betray or defy him hardly hurt either.

Since Kal-El had forced Braniac's ship into his mind, Batman had been the ideal right hand man. He only spoke when requested to, he did whatever Kal-El asked of him without so much as a blink. Superman finds a simple satisfaction in his presence, he had saved the world from itself time and time again, but still, Batman was his proudest conquest. It was almost a shame to have had to do this to the brilliant man but if this was the only way he could keep his long time friend at his side, then so be it.

“If you could speak to him now, I wonder what you would say?” Kal almost smiled at the thought of Batman's disgust with his son, what would the bat tell the boy who had betrayed him for a greater cause. Bruce had never been known to pull any punches when it came to his disapproval.

He was answered as usual with silence; the dark mask of the Batman stayed resolutely staring towards the far wall; awaiting orders. The blazing 'S' on his chest, marking him as Superman's, rose and fell with his breath, the only show of movement the dark knight would make until asked. Kal-El stood, he approached the still Bruce Wayne, a hand raised to rest on the others steady shoulder.

“What we could have accomplished, Bruce, as a family, if only you had let me show you I was right.” He gripped the shoulder tightly, enough to leave a bruise the shape of his hand beneath the armor. It's not the first mark he has left on the human's body, and it wont be the last. It was a one sided conversation he had with the caped crusader often, although as of late felt as if he had finely tuned into the Bat's inner stubbornness.

_You are nothing but an oppressive dictator._

Kal frowns at the man before him. Bruce's lips hadn't moved, but Kal could hear it like the Batman of years past is spoke right into his ear, berating his every action as if he had the right to.  
  
“I am what the world needed me to be!” He snarled at the still face, his hand crushed down hard enough that he could hear Bruce's bones creak in protest.

Bruce remained motionless, he would let Kal break him clean in half without a movement of protest; not that Kal-El wished to. Despite all the defiance Bruce had shown him in the past, he could not bring himself to kill the caped crusader. Taking over his mind seemed to be the only and best option, for he knew nothing would break Bruce's spirit. But even with the bat firmly under his control he found defiance lurked beneath the surface, something that would not be tolerated.

_What's the matter Clark? Does the truth hurt?_

Kal's jaw clenched tightly, it took him a few seconds before he released Batman's shoulder just shy of breaking it, and exhaled sharply. He forced the anger from his mind; no matter what Bruce thought of him, he would not allow himself to be goaded into rage, he also would not let the imagined defiance go unpunished.

With Diana away, he would exact his favorite discipline on Bruce. It was if Bruce had given him the excuse he needed.

“Go to my rooms, clean yourself out, and prepare your body for me.” Kal-El husked, turning from the dark knight. He strode to the door without looking back.

Kal finished his rounds, impossible eyesight scanning the skies for encroachers; super hearing seeking out those with the ability to see through walls or creep in small spaces. Lastly he made sure the guard were not to disturb him under any circumstance, before he returned to his chambers just over an hour later.

Kal-El had complete confidence that Bruce had obeyed him without protest, but he found himself moving faster towards his destination, eager for the scene that awaited him. He was not disappointed. The powerful and scarred body of his nemesis laid out on his bed, lubed fingers buried deep within himself, thrusting slowly. Bruce's body was coated in sweat, his breath slightly labored with arousal.

The Kryptonian groaned at the sight of the creature laid out before him. Blood pooled in all the right places, making his suit taught about the crotch.  
  
“Oh, Bruce.” His voice lowered to a whisper as his eyes fed on the scene. “You are so beautiful.”

The man on his bed only continued to finger himself as if Kal hadn't entered the room.

To to begin with it had been about full ownership of the defiant bat, but lust had quickly taken over. Kal had found he enjoyed being buried in that warm body, he loved the taste of the ruined flesh and the smell of everything Bruce. It had become an addiction. Any time Diana left him alone he found himself quenching his thirst until Bruce's body could barely move out of exhaustion, and even then he had found it hard to stop. Something about Bruce had always stirred him, the fact he could now do whatever he pleased had just elevated that small flame into something closer to a wild fire.

_First a murderer, then a rapist._

Kal-El bared his teeth in a silent warning snarl. “You should be grateful I let you prepare at all!” It took monumental effort to calm himself. If he let the bat get to him, the justice he was about to dispense would be tarnished, a victory for the Batman.

In the two years he had owned Bruce, he had learned a lot about fucking. The first few times were messy, and bloody, as Kal had bungled his way through the process, but he had caught on quickly. He wanted Bruce to feel the pleasure and the pain, he wanted Bruce to feel _him,_ knowing Batman would never have allowed it, would never have let his guard down enough to receive it.

In a way, Kal was giving him a gift.

He strode forward, tracing his hand across the flesh of Bruce's calf and up to his thigh. His feather light touch brushed over the raised flesh of old wounds.  
  
“That's enough, Bruce.” He carefully nudged the busy hand away, and replaced it with his own. Broad fingers pressing against swollen and open flesh. Kal let out a slightly strangled noise of need at the heat and the slick walls waiting for him. He felt a shiver of lust spark up his spine; no matter how many times he'd had Batman, it was never enough.

His suit came off faster than the human eye could follow in his rush to feel Bruce's skin against his own. He had become greedy, their time together was always so limited with Diana around. In less than a moment he pressed his chest to Batman's back, tangling their legs and writhed into the coolness of the other man's skin.

_Clark Kent, what would your mother think?_

"Don't call me that." Kal-El hissed, his mouth already worked against the skin of Batman's neck, his hands stroked against warm flesh. His already half hard cock rubbed against the cleft of Batman's backside with unconcealed urgency. There was no need to rush, but Kal-El had waited months to reclaim Bruce. He would spend the rest of Diana's departure making up for his hurried enthusiasm, for now he just needed, like a beast starved of a meal. He gripped Bruce's hips hard enough to leave bruises and ground his swollen cock between those slick cheeks, gently pressing at the opening. He liked to imagine Bruce's hips lifted on their own to encourage him, he liked to imagine Bruce's breathing filled with moans and gasps. His mind supplied everything to cover the motionless silence from the other man.

_Imagine if your loyalists could see you now, Clark._

“Shut up!” Kal growled and thrust his cock into the waiting warmth, his eyes rolled back as he sank through the ring of muscle. The voice silenced for a moment as the sparks of pleasure shot up his spine. No other partner could make him feel so good while doing so little.

The moment he was fully sheathed his hips began a frantic pace, forcing a whimper past his lips. He kept his gaze pinned to the back of Bruce's head. A glance at the bat stretched around his length would be too much for him, and he wanted just a bit more time before he teased himself with that view.

He gripped Bruce's jaw, forcing the man's back to arch so that Kal could get to his mouth with desperate kisses and breathe his moans down Bruce's throat.

_What's the matter Superman? Can't force me to respond?_

Kal let out a growl and slammed his hips into Bruce, pistoning his frustration into the body beneath him. He had tried a few times to order Bruce to kiss and fuck, but the strange jerky movements he received were robotic, worse than having Bruce not move at all; it was better to have him still and pliant beneath Kal, at least there the Superman could rock and twist the body into mock compliance.

“On your knees, Bruce.” Kal groaned out, pulling back. He was already lifting the lower part of Bruce's body and forcing the legs further apart; wasting no time to press himself back into the tight heat, and angling for the prostate.

The bat maintained a stony silence, and Kal grinned, triumphant. His body rocked into that sweet spot over and over before he vibrated against it mercilessly. He felt the muscles around him clench and spasm as he forced an orgasm from the Batman.

“What's the matter _Batman_? Can't control your own body?” The feral grin that washed over Kal's face lasted all but a moment, he let out a strangled noise; his hips jerked roughly through his own release and pounded it deep within the form beneath him. It took him three heartbeats to force his steel grip on red and swollen hips to release.

There was no quick witted response, just the heavy breath of the dominated body, now collapsed on the bed. Kal sank down next to him, and maneuvered the scarred man into his arms as he carefully stroked at bruised flesh and kissed still lips.

“Damian wants to take you away from me,” Kal whispered against hot flesh. “I can see it in his eyes. But you are mine, Bruce, he gave you up. If he so much as touches you, I will kill him.” Kal-El trailed his mouth along salty skin, tongue flicked out to taste.

Silence.

His eyes narrowed, his teeth nip at Bruce's collar while his hands force the other man's scarred thigh up and over his own. “You will see, this is where you belong, at my side.” His body, always quick to recover, begins another round of arousal, he rutted against Batman's hip wantonly. “I will never let you go, Bruce. Never. No matter what you say.”

Bruce did not reply, his dark eyes stared off into the distance despite the proximity of their bodies. Kal's anger began to rise at the continued response of silence

“Speak!” Kal hissed as he dug his fingers angrily into already bruised flesh.

“Yes, Lord Kal-El.” Came the robotic reply, Bruce's tone might have been discussing the weather for all its inflection. Kal felt rage boil up inside him, but as fast as it appeared it was gone. He would let Bruce have this petty victory, the night was still young, and Diana would not be back for another day.  
  
He growled and forced his mouth against Bruce's, his cock nudged its way back between cum slick buttocks. He had all the time in the world to make Bruce see the light, for now, he would attend to his own desires.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There are enemies everywhere.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It can't all be smut!

“Tell me where they are, Bruce.” Kal-El glowered at the cowled shadow beside him, his hands impatiently shifted over the table. The room fell silent, Diana glanced from Batman to Superman with an air of confusion, to her left Damian and Kara exchanged an alarmed look. Kal saw none of it, though he could feel the prickle of tension rising from the others, he ignored it, his eyes were trained on the ever quiet Bruce. The silence he received from the bat was undermining, so like Bruce it almost hurt.  
  
“Speak!” Kal slammed his fist on the table hard enough dent the metal, the other three jumped in shock.  
  
“Yes, Lord Kal-El.” The reply was formal, toneless. There was no other indication in Batman's body to suggest he had been in anyway affected by his masters behavior. His response seemed to further infuriate Kal; the alien's eyes began to glow and angry red as he glared at the bat.  
  
“Don't you dare-” Superman's tone was low with warning, his jaw clenched alarmingly.  
  
“Kal?” Diana interrupted. She reached out a hand to touch his arm, her face set in confused alarm. Superman jerked himself away from her and stood fluidly to approach the Dark Knight. Damian and Kara watched on, mouths slightly agape at the sudden display of rage.

“Have you lost your tongue?” Kal loomed over the shell of his old nemesis, a snarl etched over his lips, his body postured as if Bruce had challenged him on a physical level. “Shall I rip it out of you since you aren't using it?” When still Bruce did not reply, Kal raised his hand menacingly to grip the man's jaw.

“Kal!” Diana stood, her seat shoved back in her haste. “He wont answer if he doesn't know!” Superman's hand paused against the stubble of Bruce's chin, his head canted to listen. He could hear Bruce's steady pulse, the even breath, total defiance over Kal's superiority.  
  
“He is being obstinate!” Kal-El gritted out, his red eyes refused to look away from the masked man. “He knows, Batman always knows. He probably planned this all out.” Despite his conviction Kal's hand slid away from Bruce's jaw, resting instead against the dark cowl that covered half the man's face, threatening in its calmness.

“I thought he could only do what you commanded, Lord Kal-El.” Kara spoke quietly, her hands in a white knuckled grip of intertwined fingers. Her eyes darted from the scene to fleetingly flick to Damian, taking in the young general's sudden ram-rod straight sitting position with silent affirmation.

“Kal!” Diana asserted once more, and approached the alien with a frown on her brow. “He doesn't know. Send him away and we will solve the matter as we have always done.” Her hand rested upon the solid shoulder of her lover. “Together.”  
  
For a moment, Kal looked ready to snarl and snap at her, but the tension in his shoulders released suddenly, like a string cut on a marionette. When he turned to look at Diana, whatever inexplicable rage was suddenly gone, In its place a strange tenderness.

“You're right.” He placed a hand against her cheek in a strange mirror of action he had moments ago inflicted on Batman. “We will correct the insurgent reformation, one way or another. But I need Bruce here.”

Diana leaned into his palm for a moment before her frown returned. “He's distracting you.”  
  
“I wont allow anyone to take him away, especially not while my back is turned.” Kal's eyes briefly fell on Damian, who stiffened at the glance.

“You think someone plans to?” Kara's eyes widened, in surprise.

“No one is going to take him from you, Kal.” Diana intercepted firmly, a long suffering look washed briefly over her face as she turned, retook her seat and looked at Kal expectantly to do the same. Lord Kal-El did not seem convinced, his gaze flicked back to Batman for a moment before he resumed his place at the table.

Damian and Kara steeled their expressions at his return, a quiet tension seeped through the room. Kal ignored it, his mind fixated on the man behind him and the silence he wrapped about himself like the dark cowl he wore. He wanted to punish Bruce, wanted to rock into the body, remind him of who owned the bat. He would only wait so long.

Bruce could not stay silent forever.

Diana resumed her speech, sectioning off the city to begin the hunt for the rebels, but Kal had only been half listening.

He waited for the gravelly toned bat to utter in his ear, to pour his perceived failures like poison into his mind. The words never arrived. For two weeks, Kal had nothing but the Bat's silence. It was infuriating enough without Damian's stolen glances at his father; every now and then he dared look upon the man he so thoroughly betrayed. He did so right in front of Kal, as if the great leader wouldn't do anything about it. Superman felt the growl rise in his chest, it pushed past his lips in a sharp bark.

“Get out.” Kal spat, putting a halt to Diana's final instructions.  
  
“Kal?” Her eyebrows raised and then creased in frown. She followed Superman's gaze to Damian, who stared back at the alien in astonishment that quickly shifted into defiance and then, into a mask of stone as he stood.  
  
Kara's mouth opened and then snapped shut. Kal ignored her, keeping his anger focused on the once son of Wayne. His rage so fixated on the younger man, he did not see his cousins hands slide under the table or register the small device she left behind.  
  
Damain nodded to the two women and turned on his heel without a word, exiting the room, all stiff angles and restrained muscle tension. Diana glanced at Kal's thunderous expression before she turned to Kara.  
  
“We will finish this later. Keep an eye on him.” Her voice demanded immediate action.  
  
Kara nodded to the order, all to pleased to flee the room, barely restrained super-speed propelling her out the door.

“Kal, are you alright?” Diana murmured as she approached him and caressed his arm. Her eyes slid up to his with thinly veiled concern. He did not reply, his eyes still locked on the door where Damian had fled.

“Come to bed. Your attention is wasted on him.” She leaned up and pressed her lips against his with a soft smile. Her attempt to bring him back from the mood he had fallen into. She didn't need to ask what had set him off. She already knew.

He remained unresponsive for a moment before he let the tension drop from his shoulders, allowing her to pull him back to a quieter mood. He returned the kiss, and hummed against her lips, his large hands gently stroking her biceps.  
  
“I will be there soon.” He offered her a quiet smile, reassuring. “I have a little business to do first.”

She studied his face for a moment, as if hunting for something hidden in his words. Kal maintained an open expression, and creased his eyes to smile at her, she seemed satisfied with the display and returned the quirk of his lips with her own.  
  
“Don't be long.” She warned him and stepped away. As she left, her eyes narrowed fractionally toward Bruce. Kal pretended not to see, but the muscles along his jaw tensed up; his mind already darting to the reasons behind her smallest facial twitch. She would try to have Bruce stashed away somewhere, so that he could no longer be a distraction to her lover; Superman knew she would, he had been waiting for her to try it. She had come so close today, but her conviction had failed her.

Fortunate for them both she had not pursued her intentions.  
  
Kal followed the sound of her movement until she was too far away to interrupt him. In a beat, he was crushing Bruce's armored body against his own. He licked into Bruce's mouth hungrily, a low groan escaping his lips at the contact. Although his body tingled with lust, he managed restraint; there were too many eyes and ears around to risk spending any time to do more.

He needed to reaffirm his hold, to remind himself that Bruce's defiance would always be powerless against Kal's will.  
  
His hands roamed the plated body with frustrated tugs and kneading, coming to rest against the toned buttocks. He pressed his fingers firmly into the crease between them, a tease of what awaited Bruce when Diana was out of the picture again. A tease for himself, to rile him enough to spend the night in her arms instead of buried deep in the body before him.

“Bruce.” He almost whined, the breath hitched in his throat as his hands jerked the cowl off the humans face. It fell to the floor, immediately forgotten as he trailed his mouth across the exposed flesh of Bruce's throat. His teeth nipped leaving reddened flesh in their wake. It aroused Kal to know under Bruce's armor were many permanent marks of his creation, forever claiming the bat as his own.

“I will remember today.” He growled against the flesh just under Batman's earlobe. “The next time I have you alone I will remind you, over and over, just how you belong to me.” He breathed in sharply, taking the scent of the bat. The lack of response only drew a sharp hiss and a crushing embrace of the body firmly against his own. Kal's hand-prints embed in the armor. “Why do you have to test me!?”

Bruce did nothing but stand and accept, even when Superman ground against him too hard to be pleasurable to the human body. With a snarl, Kal pulled away, carding his hands through his own hair with exasperation and anger. He took three deep breaths to control himself before he spoke.

“You will pick up your cowl, go to your room and take rest. You will be ready to move out in the morning, no later than 7am.” He managed to keep his tone even as he left for his own rooms.  
  
“Yes, Lord Kal-El.” The robotic reply made Superman pause, his shoulders stiffened with fury, before he forced himself away.

As Batman bent and collected his hood his dark, inhuman eyes caught sight of a small metal disk on the underside of the table, no bigger than the tip of a finger. A fraction of a second later he had already moved on, ready to finish his masters bidding.

Kal-El took his time to arrive at his shared quarters. Diana had lain naked in their bed, waiting. Her eyes lit up as he entered, the endearment briefly considered and then shoved away by Superman; it is not Diana's adoration he wants after all. Whenever he beds her now he sees Bruce within her dark hair and pale eyes, it is enough to pretend, to bring them both to a violent completion; but even the exhaustion he has from bedding an amazon does not take the edge of his coiled need. He stares into the darkness of his shared room and tunes his hearing in to listen to Bruce sleep.

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How to anger a god, step one:

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter kicked my arse.

When Superman dreams, it is often in memories; time spent with Lois, what their child might have been, the old justice league. Long departed friends and enemies, locked in a never ending battle with themselves and each other. Time spent on the old Kent farm, before the world had turned against them, when his family had been large, warm and full of naïve hope.

Often the dreams are of past events; things he could have stopped, things anyone of the league could have stopped, for good. If only they had seen the truth from the start. Having Lois and his child torn from him because the uncompromising Batman had never realized: the only way to keep everyone safe was to permanently end the Joker.

Not even the deaths of thousands of civilians had made them act as they should have until it was all far too late.

He would wake from those dreams so violently his heat vision blasted a hole in the ceiling above him. All the while Diana would hurriedly soothe him, rubbing the stress from his shoulders. She understood, better than most.  
  
She was not Lois, and perhaps that had been what Kal had needed. Someone who could not be broken the ways a human could be broken. Someone who knew the life of a hero and what that meant, what that felt like, to be so relied upon.

Someone who had not left him, like Batman had.

When their alliance had pulled them into each others beds, Kal thought he could have grown to love Diana, but his dreams had soon pulled the notion from his heart. There was no mending the pain he had there, all he could do was push the world into the shape it needed to be, to protect the people on it from themselves so no one else would ever have to suffer what Clark had suffered.

The world his best friend had refused to be apart of.

The night before the hunt for the insurgents he dreamed of the Joker. The insane laugh echoed through his mind like a buzz saw. The mad man had begun to walk out of his nightmares, infecting any good dream he might have once had, a spreading virus in his sleeping mind. Kal-El had lost count of the amount of times he had killed the clown prince in his slumber. But no matter how often or how violently he put the Joker down, the insane laughter followed him; it chased him through the narrow recesses of his mind, ruining any sanctuary.

In those dreams, he called for Bruce, but the Batman never came to his side. His heart ached, his sorrow and rage would spill from his as it had the day of Lois' death, but still the Batman would not come.

He would see an outline of the cowl, a shift in shadow or the telltale sound of cape against stone. He would chase it through the landscape of his mind, but he always seemed to be a moment to late, no matter how fast he moved. Those nights he would wake with tears in his eyes and a scream of Bruce's name breaking past his lips. He would wake to Diana, her strong arms wrapped around him, and her eyes filled with nothing but concern and love.

Kal-El would feel nothing but emptiness.

She stood at his side as the sun streamed into the war room, it was the final preparations for the hunt, the others were all waiting on his word to begin, their dark uniforms crested with the symbolic red 'S' of the new justice league. Each of them tried and tested time and time again, under his rule. Each of them a loyal and fierce ally.

But, there was something off in the air, like a static charge. Something the alien couldn't pin point; he had felt it the moment he had risen from his bed.

The faces of his comrades were all business, not a glimpse of any recognizable deception or alarming facial ticks. Kal felt his brow furrow as his hearing strained for something tangible to stick the feeling to, but whatever it had been remained just out of reach, like an itch between the shoulder blades.

He felt ill at ease until Batman had appeared at his side, ready for his next order, lips set in that same grim line, as if years of the expression had forced his face into it by default. An expression that was almost alive, it was so uniquely Bruce that Kal's breath stuttered slightly in anticipation. He studied the bat's exposed face, his heart thundered in ill placed hope that this would be the day Batman would break his silence.

He would be disappointed yet again.

However, the act of having the ability to touch Bruce was enough to calm whatever nerves were frayed, the tense muscle around his eyes suddenly relaxed. So enraptured by Bruce's arrival he did not glean the taught look that passed over Damian's face, or the quick warning glance from Kara to his general.

“Are we ready, Kal?” Diana broke through his reverie, her voice soft but held a tone of assertion, making sure their task was not forgotten. Making sure _she_ was not forgotten. It pulled his gaze reluctantly from Batman's face, forcing his mind to stay in the here and now.

“Yes, keep your comms on, Cyborg has encrypted the signal.” Kal-El fit his own communicator into his ear and gestured for the others to do the same. “Your positions will be monitored, if there is any interference we will treat it as hostile activity. Is that understood?” Kal turned to regard them all before he nodded to Diana to give the order to move out.

It took the silence of the room when the others had left to start the search for Kal to relax his guard. He turned to Bruce and leaned in to place a kiss on stiff lips. He lingered only a moment before he forced himself back, unsatisfied.   
  
He could wait.

When the day was over he had planned to take Bruce to the fortress of Solitude, there he would break Batman of his silence once and for all. He shuddered at the prospect, already playing images through his mind, not even Bruce could withstand what the alien had planned. There would be time, all the time in the world.

He shook himself from the thoughts, already far too tempted to forget the search, to leave the whole rotting planet behind just to hear Bruce's voice once more.

“Begin choke points A through to C. Expect resistance and quell it before it has a chance to rise.” He forced his tone to be formal. “Remain in contact at all times, report any strange or threatening behaviors. You will have task force Delta to aid you.”  
  
“Yes, Lord Kal-El.” Batman's typical robotic reply made the muscles of Kal's jaw tense up. He forced himself to take in a deep breath, he would have time to punish Bruce later, and no one to disturb him.

He had barely nodded his ascension before the dark cloak of the Batman flicked out of the room in measured steps.

Superman watched him leave, trying to pull in the snarl that threatened to spill past his lips. A moment later and he had shot off into the air, over the city.

 

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

 

The hunt for the insurgents had not been eventful, whatever they had uncovered was weeks old, dead trails; no sign of cat or jester, not even a stray plant. The rebels had learned to hide themselves from Kara and Kal, to leave no trace for Cyborg to follow through his networks, and no one left behind to speak the truth into Diana's Lasso. Kal was beginning to lose patience.

He scanned the the city from the skies, focused on the task at hand, but all the while he maintained a conscious link to Bruce's heartbeat, tethered in the back of his mind for safe keeping.

The large structural masses of lead lined buildings, the tunnels, the mills or the quarries that brought him to pause in his hunt. Where ever his vision was obscured was a potential hiding place for any of his remaining enemies, Kal was ready to begin destroying any trace of lead in his city, something he should have done from the beginning.

He had been too soft. He would need to tighten his grip on the city to really bring it the peace it deserved.

As he scanned buildings the hubbub of command and order buzzed in in his ears, Damian had completed his first sector and was moving into his second position, his soldiers well trained and ready to act. Kara had spotted a potential suspect and was approaching with caution, while Diana spread her men to cover the floors of the apartment building she had entered. A moment later a loud hissing tore through both the communicator and Kal-El's hyper sensitive ears, followed by the surprised shouts and barked orders of soldiers.

But it was not any of those things that alarmed Kal.

Superman had halted mid flight, the icy fingers of dread clawed up his back as he whipped around, his senses desperately tried to latch onto the sound or sight of Batman. Bruce's heart rate had stopped; where the steady thrum of the man's pulse had been inside his skull was sudden deafening silence.

As if the man had been turned off like a switch.

In a moment his speed took him to the spot where he had left the bat, controlling the main street of traffic, and surprise searching vehicles. But he found only the traces of smoke, and many unconscious forms of his guard. He floated above the confused line of traffic, the bunched up lines of cars and trucks, lost in the haze.

It was impossible that it had happened. Not without a set up. Not without risking Kal's wrath.  
  
He leapt into the air, eyes scanning through buildings, his heart pounded in his ears. He became dimly aware that he was roaring in his rage and desperation, but he could not stop. He had to find Bruce, he had to turn whoever was responsible _inside out._

His frantic search turned up nothing. Bruce was gone.

“Cyborg, report!” Kal-El tapped his comm angrily, “Batman is missing, I need intel, NOW.” He's treated with a rasping twisted sound of static and mangled technology.

“Cyborg!” His hand crushes the small device as he is treated once more to the squealing static.

He felt like he had been punched in the gut by a Kryptonite covered fist; his mind raced through the scenario and the candidates of Batman's kidnapping and came to a mutinous conclusion. His hearing snapped towards his compatriots, but picked up little to nothing aside from Diana's distant commands. Cyborg, Kara, and Damian were silent, as if they had fallen off the face of the Earth.

He sped to each of their last locations only to find their men continuing orders. Their confusion turning very swiftly to fear as one squad at a time, Superman punished them for their commanders crimes. The screams and blood that followed would not stay his hand. They had failed him, each and every one of them.  
  
The smell of burnt flesh and the cries of civilians went unheeded as Superman left the carnage behind him. The rage inside him and risen to insurmountable proportions.

The concrete buckled around his feet as he landed next to Diana. Her eyes changed from wide in surprise to wide with shock when he grabbed her by a fistful of her hair and jerked her towards him.

“WHERE IS HE?!” He snarled into her face, all teeth and hard lines. He knew Diana had never fully approved of Bruce's enslavement, she had a jealous streak when it came to Kal's attention. He would, without hesitation, end her life then and there If she had finally acted to put Bruce away. Hers and anyone who dared help her.

“Kal!?” She dug her heels into the ground, resisting his violence. She managed to take in the expression on his face, something past alarm registered in her eyes. In a moment Diana's right hook slammed against Kal's jaw, she pulled herself free of his grip as he stumbled back, leaving strands of her long black hair in his fist.  
  
The soldiers around them glanced at each other, uncertain how to react, and who they should protect. They would be no match for the two super-human monsters before them.   
  
“What is wrong with you!” She cried out, her outrage palpable in the air between them.   
  
“Where is Bruce!” He roared back, his muscles coiled, ready to spring into attack.

A few moments pass where her face is a twisted mess of confusion before her hand jerks up to her communicator.  
  
“Cyborg!?” Cyborg come in!”   
  
“They're offline, Diana, all of them.” Kal began to circle her. “Damian and Kara have disappeared, and they have taken Bruce with them. Tell me where they are, last chance.”  
  
Diana gaped at him a moment before her hand fell from the communicator.  
“They would never do that to you, Kal.” She began in earnest. “There must be something wrong with the system.”  
  
“They are gone, they took Bruce, they betrayed me!” He spits the words out as he approaches her, one split second later he slammed her body into the ground, his hand forcing her head against the buckled concrete.  
  
“I don't know where they are!” She growled, her muscles strained as she tried to match his inhuman strength with her own. “I would never betray you, you know I wouldn't!”

“There will be no where for them to run.” Superman's roaring tone fell into an abrupt calm. He stared at the back of her head a moment before his arm went lax, releasing her from his hold. Kal allowed her to stand, his face set in a grim line as she dusted herself off.

She stared at him as if he hadn't just threatened her life, as if she understood his uncompromising anger. Above all others, she had always known what was necessary to win this war they had wrought. The fierce determination in her eyes spoke of how together they would bring the traitors to their knees, together they would rule.

But when Kal-El's mind envisions the future, it is Bruce that stands at his right hand. He cannot comprehend a future on this forsaken planet where the caped crusader is not at his side. Without Bruce, it was all for nothing.

There would be no ground left for the traitors to run to.

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The showdown begins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, I have been packing!

Every hour of every day he failed to find Bruce or the insurgent scum, ticked over like an eternity. Time was torturous in its crawl forward, it pushed Superman towards desperation like he had never known before.

His daydreams had become nothing but a twisted parody in his mind. The good memories of Bruce's body arching under his own, the moans he could pry from his lovers mouth, became malformed, hard to focus on. Bruce's body a 's decayed thing beneath his hands, crumbling to dust on touch while the rasping clown laughter broke from Bruce's lips.

It had been two weeks since Batman's disappearance, and without any good news to alleviate Kal's agitation, the alien was so easily provoked very few dared enter the same room as the super power. He had killed out of pure annoyance with the lack of progress, scattering his loyalists to the wind.

Kal carried on as if they were no more important to his regime than a shifting shadow. If they could not find Bruce they were of no use to him.

He spent the majority of his time on Braniac's ship- _his_ ship, his mind plugged into the matrix of information; using it to advance his search to further worlds, planets and systems the traitors might have taken his Batman. When he wasn't obsessively hunting through information, he raged through cities like a storm, heat vision melting down every bit of lead he could find, as if he expected Bruce to be behind it, waiting for him.

The search was slow, infuriating, useless.

Diana had stood by him, patiently waiting his return every time he leapt from their conversations to chase a whisper from another city. Her devotion went as far as denouncing their once comrades publicly, calling them cowards, traitors and dangerous vigilantes. The irony was not lost on Kal, but his mind was too occupied to reflect on it.

The betrayal had not only cost them their strongest supporters, but also their technology; Cyborg had fried many of the computers on his hasty exit, taking with them information enough to rule a small galaxy. Without his help, Kal-El's once very real plans to take his power across dimensions had been abruptly stopped in its tracks. A fact that fueled Superman's rage, like kerosene on an open fire; but Kal knew they would not stay away forever, Damian was not the type to run from a fight, and Kara would not leave the people she cared so much for behind., and Cyborg, well, his aid in the matter seemed to be hastily bought, the plan he had executed had been rushed, evident by the state of the computers he had left behind, his self interest might still be bought. All these weaknesses that were in Kal-El's favor. When they returned he would be waiting.

Even through his plans, the wait had been just about unbearable. Any patience Superman had left was stretched passed its limit. His body craved the warmth of Bruce, the sound of his steady heart beat, and the taste of his flesh; the longing in him drew out a phantom pain in his chest, a taught line that ached and then, under the strain, completely snapped.  
  
He began executing civilians on grounds of suspicion; those that refused to talk would suffer the consequences, those that hid information through falsehoods or omission would be treated as any terrorist. He took no prisoners, he gave no trials; he was judge, jury, and executioner. He made no secret of his actions, his hope had been to lure the vigilantes out of hiding, they would need to stop him, they would have to stop him, and he would use that to snap his trap shut.

Kal was owed his Bruce, and he would have him back at any cost.

The enraged alien was on his fourth wailing human, an elderly man who had soiled himself when Kal and lifted him high into the air. He had heard the man whisper about Bruce to his friends around a coffee shop table. The rushed words saying that the Batman was hiding out, and would come to take back his city once his forces were large enough. Kal had appeared behind him like the devil himself, and yanked the man out of his chair and through the roof of the small establishment. The nameless man had begged and pleaded for his life, professed his innocence in harboring secrets. Kal had let him fall.

The alien had watched impassively as the body splattered across the ground, the horrified crowd gathered around below.  
  
He deigned to land before them all, neatly off to the side of the spreading blood puddle, voice raised to be heard over the screams and cries.  
“Until the insurgents have been turned in, I will personally question anyone convicted of suspicious activity. We will not let this threat stand!” He was answered with an uncertain murmur, disquiet among the populous, it was expected; and it would take time for them to adjust. But they would see it was all for their safety in the end.

He left them to think on it, to mull over who they had heard spreading lies or rumors. Time would bring him the information he needed, time and fear.

He refused sleep, knowing the manic laughter waited for him in his dreams. Instead he walked around the rooftop of one of the high rise buildings, ears trained on the myriad of voices of the city and beyond, he sifted through them carefully. The local news stations were all broadcasting his days activities, some claimed madness, others righteous action. Kal had blocked it out, what they thought of him wasn't important. He was their ultimate protector, like a parent with a child it was up to him to show them right from wrong.

He was not alone for long, the tell-tale sign of Diana's heartbeat approached, touching down on the surface behind him, her pulse steady, but her muscles tight.

“Kal, what have you done?” She took a step towards him, her tone was incredulous.  
  
“Nothing we were not prepared to do from the start.” He felt irritation at her question, as if she were a child who knew better but was pestering anyway.

She answered with a pause, then a deep intake of breath. The deep inhale before a heroic speech, Kal had almost forgotten what those had sounded like. Barely any who would dare take that tone with him still lived.  
  
“Killing villains is one thing, but killing civilians? Information or no, that is wrong.” She let her voice deepen to show her admonishment.

“Everyone I killed was hiding something I needed to find Bruce, if I let them get away with it now, they will all think they can hide him from me!” Kal growled back at her, his back stiff, unrelenting under the questions.

“You could have used my lasso! Why didn't you ask?” She seemed genuinely confused.

The tension between them rose as Kal frowned, finally turning to look at her.

“An example needed to be made, Diana. I can't always rely on you to be there, if I need the truth I will get it, the world has to know that I wont be fooled.” His own voice was hard, insulted that she would even have to ask.

“We keep prisoners for that!” She approached him cautiously, as if he were some wild animal she was unfamiliar with.  
  
“Not any more. Not until I get Bruce back.” He held his ground, arms folded, chin raised imperiously. If she thought he would give ground on the matter she was sorely mistaken, if she could not think past her own limitations what good was she to the cause?  
  
“This has gone far enough!” She gripped his arm, her eyes were wide with sudden realization and conviction. “Can't you see he's driving you mad!?”

Kal Shoved her back roughly, ignoring the hurt in her eyes. “Get off me!” He growled, low, threatening. “Your jealousy is disgusting.”  
  
“No,” She straightened herself up, jaw steeled in resolve. “This has never been about jealousy! I have watched you kill, I have watched you conquer, and I have stood by you this whole time, because I believed in what you were doing, what _we_ were doing.” She stepped forward, fists clenched. “Because I believed, I sat by an watched you pull yourself apart for Bruce. But this is it, this is the line, Kal. It's him or me, I wont watch you throw everything we made away for Batman. He defied you, he left you to suffer when you needed him the most.”  
  
Kal stared at her, and waited out the end of her speech, his expression set in a hard line. When she finally stopped speaking she held her hand out to him, her eyes imploring him to take it, to join her and finally finish doing what they had set out to do all those years ago.

He paused, eyes cast down as he sifted through her proposal. Was it time he resumed his work and set Bruce aside? The Batman had derailed his ambitions, turned his allies into traitors with his presence alone. A wise man would have killed Bruce from the start, removed the reminder of the defiance from the world completely. Had he been so blind?  
  
His hand slid into Diana's, his eyes met with relief, flooded with warmth and love. She breathed out a sigh of relief and allowed herself to be embraced, their arms curling around each other protectively.

“I'm so sorry, Diana.” Kal began, pressing his forehead to her own. “I have made a mess of things.”

She let out a breathy laugh, her arms slid under his to clutch at his broad back, she gently pressed a kiss to his lips before murmuring, “It's unimportant now, we can move forward together. Forget this mess.” Superman's grip on her tightened slightly, and he let out a low hum, as he floated them both upwards, slowly into the night sky. “We will make this utopia one to rival Olympus.” She closed her eyes, allowing Superman to gently float them her cheek pressed against his shoulder.   
  
He leaned down to press a kiss to the side of her head. “I regret a great many things, but I know form here out I will be better.” He murmured into her dark hair. “Without you.”

Her eyes snapped open and she jerked her head up to look at him, the soft expression she expected to see on his face was not there, in it's place a mask of righteous indignation.   
  
“Kal?” Her voice came out alarmed, she fought to free herself of the ever tightening grip Superman had trapped her in. Kal said nothing, only locked his eyes with hers as his speed shot them upwards. He held onto her as she bit, hit and kicked at him, but her limbs were mostly trapped beneath his, he had positioned their embrace to his benefit.

“Why!?” She roared as she struggled against his hold.

“I knew you would try to take Bruce from me.” He replied easily, as if speaking on the color of grass.

“That man you kept at your side wasn't Bruce!” She snarled as they hurtled upwards. “You _killed_ Bruce when you plugged Braniac's ship into his head! How could you choose that shell over me!”  
  
“I doubt your family will save you this time, not after what you did to your sisters.” Kal replied as if she hadn't questioned his loyalties, as if she hadn't really spoken at all, so intent in his actions. The moment they broke free of Earths atmosphere he hurtled them towards the sun.   
  
His arms held her firmly despite the damage she inflicted on him, the heat of the sun grew ever closer, but Kal did not stop, he would not allow Diana any chance of escape or redemption. He made sure her of her arrival by slamming them both into the molten mass. Her eyes were wide as he shoved her deeper into the heat of the burning star.

The only thought running through his mind as his grip on her held steady, was that soon there would be no one left to get in the way of his reunion with Bruce Wayne.

 

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

 

The people had begun to riot. With Wonder Woman gone, and Superman picking and choosing who would be next on the chopping block, the truth had struck them all hard. Kal-El was not the savior they had asked for, he was the devil in disguise. They had begged for him to save them from themselves, and he had delivered everything and more.

Superman watched over the fires of the city below from his ship, his hearing tuned into the screams and despair below. He would let them all sink into life was like without him, it would do them good remind them what peace his rule had given them, how he had protected them and guided them into a new age of peace. In a few days he would return and take over the city once more, and they would fall before him with the gratitude and praise he deserved.

The thought brought a grim smile to his lips, there was a simple satisfaction in just standing back for a while.

There was also, of course, the option of continuing what Braniac had started. There was a sort of sense in the green alien's actions: how better to preserve a species than to have it ultimately safe from itself? It could be kept for all time within Kal's care, then he would be free to pursue other worlds, other dimensions, protecting each and every one of them from themselves. Once the thought wormed its way into his mind, the whispers of temptation began to grow, and he had begun questioning his reasons against argument, they all seemed so unrealistic now. He had been wandering the ships archives, eyes hungrily scanning the information of his home world, seeing the perfection that it was kept in, forever immortalized without outside interference. It would be such a simple thing to have Earth kept side by side, his second home safe and sound.

He would consider it seriously after he had Bruce returned to him.

A sound had wrenched him from his reverie; something familiar, a heart beat, a voice, the command that Kal-El show himself. Kal had taken off without a moment of hesitation. His eyes narrowed, he could see her hovering over the grand canyon, her dark uniform replaced with simple civilian clothing. Her blond hair and bright eyes ablaze with the lighting of the sun behind her. Her pose was defiant, her jaw set in a fury that looked out of place on her delicate features.  
  
Kal-El grinned.   
  
“Superman! This is your last chance to surrender yourself!” Kara's voice rang true in his ears, he did not stop to her demands, his flight sped him towards her, body ready to strike, to knock her out of the air.  
  
She was ready for him, her fist connecting with his own, the resounding crack of invulnerable flesh and bone echoed though the canyon below. She had grown strong under Kal-El's authority, he had forced her weakness from her, he had made her kill to keep her mind her own, to prove herself to his cause. She had done it all, her will bent to his, her actions an extension of his own. But Kal had many more years of experience with his power, he had cut out the parts of himself that were weak, that could not do what the Earth required. He would not hold back.

Their fight was fast and brutal, then landmass around them cracking and crumbling with the impact of their invulnerable bodies.   
  
“Where is Bruce!” Kal growled as he grabbed her by the back of the neck and slammed her face first into a cliff wall. She let out a loud gasp, her legs kicked away at the rock she was pressed against.  
  
“You will _never_ see him again, you _monster_!” Her smaller frame allowed her purchase with her feet, she snarled as she shoved backwards into him, breaking his hold on her.

Their fight went on, neither willing to give ground or fall until the other lay defeated, the land below them was a mass of pock marked destruction. And then Kal felt it- an interference in his ships computer, something probing into his shared mind. His hearing focused in, and he felt a beautiful rush of excitement as the familiar sound of Bruce's heartbeat flooded his mind. He could see it in Kara's face, the moment she realized Kal had made her allies, her eyes widened a fraction before turning to steel.

On her life, she would not let him pass.

“So this is your plan.” He smirks, “A shame for you, cousin, there's no turning back from what you have done. What you are about to do.”  
  
Kara's frown deepened, her body, taught and ready to pounce, she seemed for a moment, completely shocked when Kal sped toward the nearest city instead of his ship, but she was not far behind him. Her heat vision scoured lines through rock and road as she chased. She managed to clip him, sending his center of gravity off, but he didn't slow.

His arms wrapped around the first civilian body he reached; a farmer, her eyes wide with fear as he hauled her in front of him. Kara's halted, her fists clenched as she circled him.  
  
“Let her go Kal.” She warned, eyes glowing red.  
  
“Or what? Are you going to kill her or shall I?” His own eyes heated up, ready for action.

“This isn't you, she's innocent!” Kara's voice strained.

He didn't have time to waste with the debate, he knew where Bruce was, he could almost feel the Batman tugging at him, begging for him. The woman let out a shriek as he hurled her upwards. Kara was suddenly in motion, ready to slow the violent ascension, but Kal has grabbed her leg as she reached out, and tugged her violently back, using her dropped defense to slam her into the ground. On impact he was on her, his fist pounds into her skull repeatedly.

Kal barely paused as he dragged her dazed form up over his shoulder, a moment later he flew towards his ship, ignoring the sounds of falling body behind him. He would begin where he had failed with Kara, she would serve him, but this time he would have perfect control. With her and Bruce both at his side, there would be no stopping him.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I mention I love cliff hangers? Please don't hate me.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How the mighty fall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are a lot of artistic liberties taken with this story. I tried to make them plausible, I swear.   
> Buckle up! It's the last chapter ride!

“I have him. Uploading now.” Cyborg's voice sent a chill up Kal's spine. He can feel the invasion of his ships data like it's his own mind the traitor is prying into. The screaming in his head was enough to drive him up the wall, mixed with the very idea that Cyborg is touching the very essence of Bruce is enough to send Kal into a white hot rage. He burst through the hull like a bullet, landing hard against the deck. He dropped Kara to the side in his haste, ignoring the solid sound as her body hit the floor.

It was Bruce that his attention snapped to first, laying prone on the lobotomy table. His eyes closed as if in sleep, dark eyelashes against pale skin, his greying hair a mess as if the cowl had only recently been pulled of his head, and days of stubble speckled his jaw. Kal's heart lurched in his chest at the sight. _His_ Bruce, not cared for, strapped down by the alien shackles; the worm like appendage of his own ships cables plugged into his temples, blemishing perfect skin.

“Shit.” The voice jerked Kal-El's attention away from the body of his lover, giving his rage direction. Cyborg was standing on the other end of the cable lines, each plugged into his disgusting arm, his human eye wide with alarm.

With Kal-El in direct proximity to him it seemed odd that the cyborg did not try to back off or move into attack position. The thought buzzed through Kal's mind to be cautious, but the very notion of Cyborg so much as touching Bruce, tore down all his concerns, replacing them with a possessive and furious anger. He could only snarl as he approached at blurred speed.

His aim was to rip Cyborg limb from robotic limb; he got within a hairs breath of doing so when he was hit by an unrelenting agony. It crippled him in an instant, white hot pain shot through his body, making him drop to his knees while a dry scream left his throat.  
  
It was Damian who was the source of his torture, standing behind him, a sliver of green crystal attached to a thickly gloved hand. Kal stared at him, his teeth bared in pain and anger, every single thought he'd had of killing Damain rushing to the forefront of his mind; each and everyone vying to be the chosen method, each boasted the most satisfaction. How dare this _worm_ get between him and his prize?  
  
“Any last words, you rapist piece of shit?” Damian growled. He stood with his chest puffed out, righteous indignation plastered over his face, as if he had every right to judge his Lord. The traitors uniform changed to his old colors, the red and green of years past, a sullied mantle. It made Kal feel sick with rage, blood thumped through his ears, making them ring, his vision heating up with the disgrace of it all. Damian the traitor, who disowned his own father, now has turned coat again, trying for undeserved redemption, he had no claim to Bruce, he could not call himself a Wayne, _not now, not ever again._

Kal's weakened body was determined to fight, to have his revenge. Cyborg, he would dismantle, but Damian deserved something special. Perhaps he could be forced to watch as Kal penetrated his father again and again, perhaps he could be kept alive for a time, without his limbs, just a torso to be punished day to day as Kal felt the need.

Perhaps both those punishments would be more than generous.

The aliens lips peeled back from his teeth and he forced himself up from his knees, eyes heating up with his remaining strength. “You never deserved him!” His words barely made it passed his lips before Damian's gauntlet fist slammed into his jaw. Kal fell backward onto the ships floor from the force, his body bruising at the impact. His head rang like a bell, and his teeth had turned a vibrant red with his blood. “You wont take him from me!” He hissed through his pain, forcing his screaming body into kneeling position. Damian snarled and raised his fist again, the small kryptonite crystal catching the light as it hooked into Kal's gut. The air rushed out of Superman's lungs in a violent huff; he doubled over under the force, his body folding in half. The impact of the blow sent his body sliding backwards along the floor, incidentally sending him closer to Bruce and the cyborg.   
  
In his fall and extra distance from Damian he had a brief respite from the shrill pain of the crystal laced glove; a single defining moment where he was able to think through the agony. His mental connection to the ship had been compromised, not only by Cyborg's meddling but also the sharp pain in his body, the small reprieve gave him enough energy to wrest some control, feeble as it might be. The unused lasers above the lobotomy table sparked to life under his strained thought, diving towards Damian like angered snakes, keeping him and his hurtful kryptonite at bay.

It would not last long, but it was enough.

His weakness persisted, but the haze of agony lessened somewhat at the lack of physical contact. He rolled his lips away from his teeth as he used the table to pull himself upright, glare fixated on Cyborg. The interference is like nails down a chalk board in his mind and he couldn't take it. Every breach past his security was a shrieking warning through his skull.

He could see the half-robot was fixated on his task of 'uploading', taking up most of his focus, though his human eye watched Kal with an alertness that suggest he would be ready for any action. Under any other circumstance it would be laughable to Superman, but right then, all Kal could think about is that disgusting pipe leading from Bruce's head to Cyborg's arm.

It was the way Bruce's eyes flickered as if he was in REM state sleep, shifting back an forward under closed eyelids. It clarified that traitor was trespassing where he was not ever allowed to so much as think of going.

Cyborg was polluting Bruce, and Kal-El knew, he _knew_ it was Cyborg who had made his Batman silent to begin with. It had become so clear to him now, like a light bulb had gone off in his head. The creature had been corrupting Bruce's mind, turning him against Kal all that time. Superman let out a roar of anger as he used what strength had returned to him to grab onto the metallic tentacles; his thoughts rushed at him all at once, the accusations, the complete _hatred_ for the one who dared come between him and Bruce Wayne _._

Cyborg would _never_ have Bruce, Kal would _never_ give him up.

Cyborg cried out a warning, Damian hissed and yelled as he battled with the ship. The noises sound distant and distorted in Kal's mind, like they were all under water, he paid them no thought at all. Without hesitation his hands pulled the wires from his lover before either of them could stop him.

It seemed such a simple and absolute solution to his little problem. The wires made a sickening crunch as they were yanked from Bruce's head, squeezed in Kal's mighty and protecting hand; the triumphant grip of their true lord and master. Kal grinned, his voice raised high to cover the horrified silence that followed his actions. His mind was able to pry the use of the shackles from Cyborg in one exhausting claim of dominant command.  
  
“Bruce, kill them.” Superman waits, truly certain that his dark knight will rise from the table.

But then..

But then, Bruce's body does not behave. The movement of his muscles are not to obey, but to start violent convulsions. Those once dark eyes of Superman's control roll back in his head, showing only the angry red veins against inhuman black. Batman froths at the mouth as his body arches upwards so violently Kal thinks his spine can't possibly take the strain. He was distantly aware of his own cries of shock as he tried to hold his love still.

Bruce let out one final shudder before his body went deathly still.

The silence of the room is only broken by Damian's anguished cry. Cyborg didn't make a sound, only stared in shock for all of a moment before the anger took over. Kal noticed none of it, his hearing was strained to find Bruce's missing heart beat. It had to be there, hiding from him once again.

Bruce had always been so good at hiding from him.

Kal's hands gripped cooling flesh, and he is certain that any moment his Batman would return to him. Their long awaited embrace was so imminent, Kal couldn't help but preempt the action; his lips pressed against Bruce's in a demanding kiss.

He did not get to relish the moment of his reunion.   
  
Pain erupted through his body as he was attacked by both spiteful crystal and inhuman limb. Both tore him form the body beneath him so violently his equilibrium was momentarily displaced. He found himself on the floor, Damian on top of him, slamming that painful fist into his head over and over. The boys face contorted in a mask of rage that looked so familiar, Kal could not help but finally see Bruce in the younger man.

Between dazing punches and jolting pain, Damian ceased to be Damian. His features taking on qualities the alien had never noticed before.  
  
It was Batman that attacked him. Finally that violent rage he had been longing for had returned. Finally his Bruce had come back to him. Kal could not help but smile, tears pricked his eyes.

“Bruce.” His battered and bloody lips croaked out, halting the pummeling of his face. The Batman above him paused, eyes wide in anger, horror, pain. His beautiful lips trapped in a snarl, his eyes alight with fire. Kal was mesmerized, his hands gripped at his loves legs weakly, but tenderly.   
  
_God he had missed Bruce._  
  
“Kill him, Damian!” Cyborg approached, his arm, now free of the cables that had defiled, and then set Bruce free, shifted into something more appropriate for inflicting pain.   
  
Kal, through his agony, could not stop the tears that ran down his cheeks. The joy grew and then burst inside of him so intensely it outweighed the pain of his brutalized body. His fingers took what strength he had left to cling to the beautiful man above him.   
  
He would never let go, Bruce had to know, Clark was his forever.  
  
The anger on his Bruce's face did not fade, but something else eased into those haunted eyes, and Kal groaned in pleasure of seeing it. _Conviction,_ that stubborn clench of jaw, that absolute control that Bruce had always had. Kal-El had not realized that he had missed that mulish expression so much. If he was not in so much agony he would have tried to kiss that face, memorize the hard lines of it with his lips.  
  
The turmoil in his mind, for the first time in a long time was absolutely quiet. Bruce as with him, now and forever, as it should always have been.

“No,” Bruce growled. Kal could hear the gravelly tones, rusty from disuse, it sent a spark of pleasure down his spine. “Not again, never again. Batman doesn't kill.”

Kal let out a soft groan, even though the kryptonite's presence was killing him, he found he could not care. He had what he wanted. He had Bruce.  
  
He was unconscious before Damian climbed off him.

 

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0 **Epilogue** 0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

 

His prison walls were adjusted from Brainiac's cells to contain the strength of a Kryptonian. A hasty re-design of the red sun prison that Kal had so long ago ripped apart. Kal did not remember getting there, or the process he had gone through to cut off his connection to the ships computers. They had torn his uniform from him, and in the process given him a few more bruises and open wounds to deal with, both processes he had been mercifully unconscious for.

He had visitors often. Kara's haunted eyes, doused with hatred, Cyborg's disdain. He paid them no mind. When they spoke it was like the jabbering of infants, nonsensical, unimportant. They talked of taking him off world, the phantom zone, they tried to taunt him with it.  
  
It didn't matter, neither of them mattered.

Kal's mind was too fixated on a hairline fissure in the red shield that was his prison wall, to take in anything they said; the small, innocuous imperfection that tantalized him with the sound of Batman. Their words would wash over him like rain while his head tilted to the side, listening; his hungry eyes stared, glazed over and distant. Every so often the muscles in his jaw twitched, as his lips followed the whispered words of a distant conversation. A smile formed across dry lips, followed with the flick of a tongue.

The caped crusader hunted in the dark streets of Gotham once more. His form impeccable, brutal, beautiful. Kal had been following the sound of his every move, the timbre of his voice the beat of his heart. His strong figure is slighter than it was before, his moves faster, his voice younger, but he does not fool Kal, he would know his Bruce anywhere.

“I hear you, Bruce.” He hummed into the still air of the prison. His unfocused pupils dilated, before heavy lids closed over them. “Why don't you visit me?”

_I owe you nothing. Gotham is more important._

“You belong to me.” Kal argued, though his smile was fond. “I will come to claim you again.”  
  
 _Try it, Clark._

The alien grinned, the pleasure of the notion sparking through him like a wave. Batman could taunt and deny him all he pleased, but Kal knew the truth.

Sooner or later, they would be together again, and when that happened, no one would tear them apart.

  
-Fin-

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's finally done!  
> These last chapters killed me, action sequences are not fun to write, but I finally got them out. I could see this fic being a lot longer, stretching out to include more characters and more twists and turns, but that wasn't the story I wanted to write, I hope you all enjoyed it as it is.


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